PhpStorm 2017.3 Help

Auto-Completing Code and Paths

This section covers various techniques of context-aware code completion that allow you to speed up the coding process.

Basic code completion. Completing names and keywords

Basic code completion helps you complete names of classes, methods, and keywords within the visibility scope. When you invoke code completion, PhpStorm analyses the context and suggests the choices that are reachable from the current caret position.

Code completion covers supported and custom file types. However, PhpStorm does not recognize the structure of custom file types and suggests completion options regardless of whether a specific type is appropriate in the current context.

If basic code completion is applied to part of a parameter, or a variable declaration, PhpStorm suggests a list of possible names depending on the item type.

SmartType code completion automatically highlights the selection in the suggestions list that is most suitable for the current context.

If necessary, press Ctrl+Shift+Space once again.

Completing statements

Complete statements enables you to create syntactically correct code constructs. This command inserts necessary syntax elements (parentheses, braces, semicolons etc.) and gets you in position where you can start typing the next statement.

To automatically complete a statement, start typing it. The punctuation required in the current context is added and the caret moves to the next editing position.

Importing a taglib declaration

Hippie completion. Expanding words based on context

Hippie completion is a completion engine that analyses your text in the visible scope and draws its completion proposals from the current context. It helps you complete a word with a keyword, class name, method or variable.

Press Shift+Alt+/ or choose Code | Completion | Cyclic Expand Word (Backward) to search for matching words after the caret and in other open files.

The first suggested value appears, and the prototype is highlighted in the source code:

Press Enter to accept the suggestion, or hold the Alt key and keep pressing Slash until the desired word is found.

Postfix code completion

Postfix code completion helps you reduce backward caret jumps as you write code. It allows you to transform an already typed expression to a different one based on a postfix you type after a dot, the type of expression, and its context.

For example, the .if postfix applied to an expression wraps it with an if statement.

Before

After

functionm(arg){arg.if}

functionm(arg){if(arg){}}

To enable/disable the postfix completion feature or separate templates, in the Settings / Preferences Dialog dialog, go to Editor | General | Postifx completion. You can also choose which key you want to use to expand postfix templates: Tab, Space, or Enter.

Postfix completion suggestions are shown as part of the basic completion suggestions list. To see a full list of postfix completions applicable in the current context, press Ctrl+J.

Completion tips and tricks

Narrow down the suggestions list

You can narrow down the suggestions list by typing any part of a word (even characters from somewhere in the middle), or invoking code completion after a dot separator. PhpStorm will show suggestions that include the characters you've entered in any positions.

This makes the use of wildcards unnecessary:

In case of CamelCase or snake_case names, type the initial letters only. PhpStorm automatically recognizes and matches the initial letters.

Accept a suggestion

You can accept a suggestion from the list in one of the following ways:

Press Enter or double-click the desired choice to insert completion to the left from the caret.

Press Tab to replace the characters to the right from the caret.

Use Ctrl+Shift+Enter to make the current code construct syntactically correct (balance parentheses, add missing braces and semicolons, etc.)

View reference information

You can use the Quick Definition View by pressing Ctrl+Shift+I when you select an entry in the suggestions list:

View code hierarchy

You can view code hierarchy when you've selected an entry from the suggestions list:

Press Ctrl+H to view type hierarchy.

Press Ctrl+Alt+H to view call hierarchy.

Press Ctrl+Shift+H to view method hierarchy.

Completing a path

This type of completion aims at speeding up selection of files and folders. The dialog used for that purpose is called rather often, for example, when you specify the installation folder of an external tool or a Version Control engine or configure a PHP interpreter.

Open the Select Path dialog by choosing Open File on the File menu or by clicking the Browse button next to the field where a path is required.

Make sure that the Path field is visible. If the field is hidden, click the Show path link.

Start typing a path. PhpStorm suggests a pop-up list where you can quickly find the needed directory: As you type, the suggestion list shrinks to show the matching paths only: You can also press Ctrl+Space to show the suggestion list.